Fiddy

"Only one who wonders finds new paths." -- Norwegian proverb

Hola, amigos! Well, only 3 short days remain in our Streaking challenge! AND we are almost to the halfway point of our Century Run summer challenge! What better time to provide an update on my progress so far. In short? I'm exhausted! I can't remember the last time I was this deliriously tired... maybe last summer? Regardless... I'm tired, cranky, and ready to go back to my regular routine. 

The streak has been fun - my niece and I continue to find new ways to get our miles in, whether it be a short jog around the neighborhood or a challenging hike in the heat. A couple of weekends ago, we did a nearly 5 mile hike at Vasquez Rocks with some girls I met through Girls Who Hike LA (a team of which I am a moderator). While I hope to find time to blog about it later, it was a moderately strenuous hike - slightly under 5 miles (I forgot to turn the app on, so that's why it's only reflecting 3.99) and an elevation gain of roughly 1,000'. AND... we did it in 90+ degree heat! Whew!

We've been trying to mix things up during the work week too - whether it's testing new neighborhood routes in the dark to beat the heat, or walking the various trails at the park near my house, we try to forge a different path every single day! (Confession: There have been many days that doing just a mile has been hard lately. I don't know if it's work stress, personal stress, or heat exhaustion, but I am dog tired these days! But... we haven't skipped a day yet! Yay!)

We kicked off the last week of the Streak by visiting Pinnacles National Park for a hike. We had planned a longer hike than we ended up doing, but we were pretty proud with what we did! All in all, I have reached over 50 miles of walking, jogging, running, and hiking on this streak. I'm halfway to my century goal (which I now fully expect to exceed), and feeling stronger every day. 

But it hasn't been all wins, folks. Personal training sessions aside, I have not been fully committed to weight lifting. It sucks because I enjoy it, but I feel so guilty leaving my niece alone all day that I end up talking myself into skipping it after work so that I can spend my time with her. My runs have also suffered. I have been "streaking" with my niece, but she's not a runner. When I do run, it's usually short and not very fast. I really need to work on pace and endurance in the months ahead. Sigh.

My next race is coming up on July 10th in Ventura, and I hope to find time in the next two weeks to somewhat train for that accordingly. If not, it will be a lesson learned. (as if I am learning from any of these errors... sheesh). 

Are you streaking with the cool kids? Or did you join our century run? Neither? I don't blame you... my occasionally lazy behind wishes she didn't commit to so much too! But I do hope you're taking advantage of the warmer weather! Get outside! Explore! And tell me about it so I can live vicariously when I read about your adventures during breaks between my meetings on my iPhone! :)

In the meantime, it's bedtime for this girl... another marathon day of meetings awaits me in the morning! Hope you are happy and healthy, my friends!

Cheers!

Becky